DeFoe Moll Flanders

A detailed Summary of DeFoe Moll Flanders

In New Hampshire I had a Philosophy teacher that used to say, and I believe he was quoting another, "People who believe in freewill are ignorant of the reasons of their actions". This quote, in the context of Defoe's Moll Flanders, brings about a multitude of questions and discussion. Was Flanders free or was she predetermined to live a wicked and improper life mired in years of penitence? Was the fact that her mother a whore before her enough to dismiss the question? It is, in fact, these questions that persuaded me to abandon my philosophy major and follow my love of literature, but that is a different story.

Certainly there is no question that Flanders was a criminal, that is to say she was a whore, a thief, and furthermore broke laws that are seen as truly heinous and immoral, namely incest. In regards to Flanders having sex with her own brother it would be difficult to argue that this was a predetermined event considering she truly did not know her husband was of her own flesh and

blood. If, indeed, she was aware of the relation and then chose to proceed then one could discus it further in the context of freewill. As for being a whore there is no question that Flanders, especially later in her life, involved herself with such happenings, but for me it was the thievery that seemed to capture the essence of Flanders continual undoing and constant need for penitence. There is no better part of Defoe's work to capture the feelings of utter despondency then when Moll is going to steal for the first time from the apothecary's shop. Defoe prefaces the scene with a few paragraphs where Moll explains her absolute "desolate state". The crime is then set in what James Sutherland explains, "...Moll's first theft he sets the scene with such careful attention to detail that he fixes it in our minds, and gives to it that air of authenticity which, for Defoe, is almost justification of fiction". This is where Defoe's journalistic stylings shine. The reader is indeed in the apothecary and sees Moll's gaffe unfolding before him. We are free to judge whether or not we

Some common words found in the essay are:
James Sutherland, Moll Flanders, Sutherland Moll, Yes Moll, Hampshire Philosophy, English Novel, moll flanders, question flanders, constant penitence,

Approximate Word count = 727
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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DeFoe Moll Flanders

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